Music

Colorful umbrellas long ago replaced concealed knives during frevo parades.

Music & Culture

From Recife, Brazil, 3 Rhythms Get The Carnival Party Started

8:23am March 01, 2014

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

The descendants of the coastal Brazilian city have a long, mixed history, making for quite the vibrant display and musical celebration. One style of music is even said to make the blood boil.

Queue Listen Now

A Major Oscar Dust-Up Over A Song From A Minor Movie

5:45pm February 25, 2014

The song "Alone Yet Not Alone" had been nominated for Best Original Song at this year's Oscars. Not anymore. Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter explains why.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Still 'Out To Lunch' 50 Years Later

5:15pm February 25, 2014

by Kevin Whitehead

Eric Dolphy's creativity was exploding early in 1964, and he was finding more players who could keep up. Out to Lunch is free and focused, dissonant and catchy, wide open and swinging all at once.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Thundercat On Making Music Outside The Lines

7:41pm February 24, 2014

by Frannie Kelley

Session musician Stephen Bruner has played bass in other people's bands for more than a decade. He can play metal, R&B, hip-hop, jazz. With his second album, he's stepping to the front of the stage.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Vertical Scratchers: Slashed Chords, Fractured Poetry

2:15pm February 24, 2014

by Ken Tucker

Daughter of Everything is a superb pop album with one foot in the past and another in the future.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Rosanne Cash: Seeking A 'Thread' Through Southern History

9:02pm February 21, 2014

by Ken Tucker

Ken Tucker says The River & The Thread is a travelogue; a timeless work of comfort and quiet joy.

Queue Listen Now

Mo performs in 2011, the year he rose to prominence on Norway's version of The X Factor.

Years After Tragedy, Norwegian Pop Star Returns To World Stage

11:36am February 20, 2014

by Sidsel Overgaard

Mohamed Abdi Farah's life and career changed when he was caught in a national calamity in 2011. Now, he hopes to become his country's representative in Eurovision, the Europe-wide singing competition.

Queue Listen Now

Advocates are pushing for the virtues of music education that can't be measured numerically.

Music & Culture

Music Education For Creativity, Not A Tool For Test Scores

7:58pm February 18, 2014

by Sarah McCammon

With so much pressure on schools to improve test scores, music and the arts sometimes fall off the list of priorities. That's led advocates for music education to point out its benefits in the classroom.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Heavy Rotation: Shlohmo & Jeremih

8:22am February 18, 2014

Each month NPR Music asks public radio hosts and DJs to pick a favorite new song. Today we'll hear from Jason King, host of I'll Take You There, NPR Music's new 24 hour Soul and R&B stream. He's talking about his pick for Heavy Rotation: "No More" by Jeremih and Shlohmo.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing

1:06pm February 13, 2014

Download new music from orchestral indie-folk acts San Fermin and Typhoon, rising hip-hop artist Rapsody, Ethiopian legend Mulatu Astatke, French synth band La Femme, Americana star Amanda Shires and more.

Queue Listen Now